Dr. Bryan Wagner

Biography

Bryan Wagner is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on African American expression in the context of slavery and its aftermath, with specific interests in legal history, vernacular culture, urban studies, and digital humanities. His influential book, 'Disturbing Peace: Black Culture, Police Power, and Slavery,' published by Harvard University Press in 2009, offers a new theory regarding the black vernacular tradition and its historical engagement with criminal law. In 'Tar Baby: Global History,' released by Princeton University Press in 2017, he interprets the globally circulating folktale of 'tar baby,' exploring its implications on labor value, property politics, and historic injustices associated with colonial law. Moreover, he has authored 'Looking Law in Wrong Places,' an essay collection published by Fordham University Press in 2019, and various other works that delve into the intersection of culture, law, and African American history. He is the Principal Investigator on several multidisciplinary digital humanities projects, such as 'Louisiana Slave Conspiracies,' which creates an interactive archive of trial manuscripts related to slave conspiracies, and 'Tremé 1908,' about a neighborhood's cultural evolution amid civil rights activism. Currently, he is writing 'People's Court: Law, Performance, Slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement,' reconstructing the interplay of law and cultural expression during this pivotal period.

Research Interests